I’m probably not the usual tourist when I’m in Washington, D.C. After living there for five years, outside of the new memorials or monuments, if I didn’t see it or do it then, it doesn’t interest me to do it or see it now. So when I’m there, it’s all about trying the new or hot restaurants or people watching at whatever public demonstration happens to going on.
After a fantastic dinner at D.C. Coast (if you’re out there you have to try their crab cakes – the best I’ve ever had!), my friends and I decided to pop in on one of the Occupy D.C. camps and see what was going on. There are two camps going on in D.C. right now, one is stationed outside the Mayor’s office and there is another just off of Thomas Circle, near Capital Hill. This being the Nation’s Capital, we expected something impressive, so we popped in on the Thomas Circle camp.
As you’d imagine there were tents everywhere, little doggie igloos, some very creative signs, some really bad smells but oddly very few people, not even a quarter of people to tent ratio. There were some sketchy looking guys at the end of the camp that deterred us from walking all the way through the park, but even walking 3/4 of the way through, it was obvious that this Occupy camp was unoccupied.
While driving back to the airport the following day, we drove by the other camp – it too was pretty unoccupied. Perhaps the D.C. Occupy peeps have government or corporate jobs that require them to be at work and they can’t get back to their camps until the weekend. If that’s the case, I’m not sure they are the best mouthpiece for their movement. The obvious lack of people protesting leaves one to wonder if the Occupy D.C. camps are just for show.
There are plenty of DC occupiers Kris, they’re called lobbyists.
Good one, Steverino!
Actually,Kris, there are plenty of (four-legged) Occupiers around.
City: Rat population has ‘exploded’ around Occupy D.C. camps
The rat population around the two Occupy D.C. camps at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza has “exploded”since protesters began their vigil in October, according to Mohammad N. Akhter, the director of the District’s Department of Health.
Akhter said in an interview Monday that city health inspectors have seen rats running openly through both camps and spotted numerous new burrows and nests underneath hay-stuffed pallets occupiers are using for beds. Both campsites had working kitchens for weeks until last week, but protesters at McPherson Square voluntarily closed down theirs after health inspectors pointed out unsanitary conditions during an informal monitoring visit.
Akhter said his concerns about the health and safety at the camps prompted him to order a city-wide review of conditions there, including input from health inspectors, mental health professionals, experts on the homeless and others. He is reviewing their findings this week.
Read the rest at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/city-rat-population-has-exploded-around-occupy-dc-camps/2012/01/09/gIQA6AoylP_blog.html?hpid=z5